|
More Children On Chronic Medications For
Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Asthma, Depression
And Diabetes
The finding is included in a study of chronic medication
use in children 5 to 19 reported Wednesday, Nov. 7
at the annual meeting of the American Public Health
Association by researchers from the Saint Louis University
School of Medicine and School of Public Health and
pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts. In addition
to diabetes, utilization patterns for blood pressure,
cholesterol, asthma and depression medications were
also examined.
"Across every chronic medication class we examined
over this four year period of time, children's use
increased, with varying patterns of growth across males
and females and age groups," said Emily R. Cox,
Ph.D., RPh, senior director of research at Express
Scripts.
For example, the number of males between 15 and 19
using a blood pressure drug increased by 15.4 percent
even as the number of females in the age group taking
the drugs, called antihypertensives, declined by 1.6
percent.
On the other hand, the number of females between 15
and 19 taking an anti-depressant increased by 6.8 percent
while, for males in the same age group, utilization
declined slightly.
This increase in anti-depressant use among 15 to 19
year old girls was a striking exception to decreases
for boys and girls 5 to 9 and boys 10 to 19. It also
occurred despite a Public Health Advisory released
by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2003,
regarding anti-depressant use by children. Among all
children, the prevalence of antidepressant use had
been increasing prior to the advisory after which it
decreased.
With asthma, children age 5 to 9 accounted for the
largest increase in the use of controller medication
among the three age groups at 67.3 percent as compared
to 38.8 percent for the 10 to 14 age group and 34.7
percent for the 15 to 19 age group.
"This may be explained by concerns over long-term
side effects of these medications in children and/or
greater physician office visits, and therefore greater
likelihood of prescribing," explained Donna R.
Halloran, M.D., MSPH, assistant professor of pediatrics
at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
"Overall, these patterns could reflect changing
prescribing behaviors by physicians (anti-hypertensives),
increases in the risk factors for chronic diseases
(type-2 antidiabetics, antihyperlipidemics), increased
office visit rates and therefore screening rates --
particularly for females -- or trends toward greater
use of drug therapy as the preferred mode of treating
children with chronic conditions," observed Sharon
M. Homan, Ph.D., professor of community health at Saint
Louis University School of Public Health. |
